Switch to 3-3-5 defense paying off for Vidor this season

Though Vidor held a seven-point lead over Ozen at the half in Saturday night’s football game, the Pirates’ defense could not seem to find an answer for Ozen running back JaKobi Jones.
Jones had 13 rushes for 119 yards and a touchdown in the half.
Vidor held Jones to just 22 yards in the second half.
Given that discrepancy, you’d expect that the Vidor coaching staff made some serious adjustments at the half.
Except they didn’t. Vidor had the same gameplan in the second half but the tackling was better.
“We had guys in position to make tackles (in the first half),” said Dickie Robinson, the team’s defensive coordinator. “We just tackled a little bit better (in the second half).”
Vidor had yet another strong defensive effort. The Pirates were in the backfield almost every time Ozen quarterback Trey Green dropped back to pass, holding him to just 5 of 12 passing for 86 yards.
“The defensive coaches dialed up a lot of blitzes,” said Vidor coach Jeff Mathews. “We didn’t want to just let him sit back there and get comfortable.”
Games like these show why Mathews wanted to switch to the 3-3-5 defense this year.
So far, the move has paid off. Vidor has yet to give up more than 27 points on defense in a game this season.
The Pirates lead the district in total defense. They are second in rushing defense and third in passing defense.
“We changed to that (defense) to get more speed on the field and get more pressure,” Mathews said.Vidor working on its passing game
When Vidor got the ball back at its own 38 yardline with a little over a minute to play in its 21-14 win over Ozen on Saturday and the game tied, it was hard to fathom that the Pirates would have time to put together a drive down the field.
The Pirates are known for taking large chunks off the clock in their run-heavy, Slot-T offense.
On the final drive, Vidor got 34 yards on one passing play from quarterback Montana Quirante to receiver Bryce Cooper. Quirante was 4 of 9 for 65 yards with a touchdown and an interception. When he missed, he didn’t miss by much.
He did it all with a sore throwing arm.
Mathews says the ability to pass really opens up things for his team’s offense.
“If we can pass like we want to be able to, throwing those play action passes can change the defense,” Mathews said. “We’re still not going to be spread though.”